D&Z Chs. 6-7

         After reading Chapters 6 and 7 in Subjects Matter, I considered the idea of classroom community.  How can teachers foster empathetic relationships between students?  How can people see others as worthy, even though they may look or act differently than what we are used to?  Honestly, this is a terrifying thought for me.  I realize that I am going to be in charge of so many students, and before I can effectively teach them, they need to feel safe.  I will be responsible for creating a safe and nurturing environment which caters to each of my students.  What a daunting thought.  Really, when you think about it, each and every one of us needs to be conscious about overcoming our prejudices—and these do not always have to do with race or sexual orientation. 

            Fear of the unknown is an ugly beast.  Until we get to know someone, they are simply a number lumped in with a group of people outside the norm for us.  How can we, as human beings and teachers of future generations, create and foster an environment of compassion and empathy?  How can we help students understand that no matter how different their peers are that they are still human?  I know I am asking a lot of questions, but they are not rhetorical.  I do not have solid answers for these questions.  I find myself scared of things I do not understand all the time, so how can I help my students look beyond their worldview to really see another person if I am scared to do the same?

            Over the years, I have gotten advice from my Aunt who has been a teacher for almost 20 years.  She has always told me that, in order to get past fear and prejudice, we need to see others as people who are worthy of love and respect on a fundamental level—just because they are people.  Her strategy for doing this involves asking her students to work with people they do not know in class.  She says that once you see a person instead of a member of a different group, empathy develops.  So far, she has had a fairly high success rate.  No one should ever be made to feel like they do not belong.  As teachers, our job is to make sure that they are able to participate and learn, no matter what.